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You can have a crowd-pleasing menu, loyal regulars, and a packed dining roomand still watch your margins disappear. Too many restaurant menus are built on intuition and aesthetics, not real numbers. What Is Menu Engineering and Why Should You Care? Because not every dish thats popular is profitable.
While overall interest in AI-driven restaurant features remains low, loyalty is increasingly influenced by personalized promotions, according to the Summer 2025 Consumer Trends Report from Provoke Insights in collaboration with Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine.
Naturally engaging for the senses, videos attract attention in a sea of content, get diners interested in your menu, and encourage visitors. Showcasing New Menu Items and Specials Several aspects of the restaurant experience affect the guest’s perception, but the menu is arguably the most important.
Consider this – the menu is the most important component of a successful restaurant and once designed it can, and should, impact every other aspect of the business. YES – the menu is that important! The menu comes first and should reflect the philosophy of the owners and chef and how the operators expect to be perceived by the public.
Behind the scenes, strategic decisions greatly impact a restaurant's bottom line, and at the forefront of these is the art of menu engineering. Far from just a list of dishes, a well-engineered menu is a powerful tool that can significantly increase a restaurant's efficiency and profitability.
From salted egg yolks and chili crunch fusions to mushroom-infused teas and freeze-dried fruit powder garnishes, Kimpton’s in-house experts share the standout ingredients, menu items and techniques that will come to the table in 2025. That’s where the NEXT Flavor Report comes in.
Photos of your menu items, ambiance, and even happy customers will give potential guests a glimpse of the dining experience you offer. Use it to share updates, special events, or new menu items. For example, you can promote your seasonal dishes or happy hour specials. It's an active marketing tool.
It's not just the merch on the menu that is driving traffic to the brand with a misison to create spaces that blend sports and leisure and offer innovative cocktails, next-level architecture and high-end designer decor with elevated bar bites, retro games, and exclusive event nights. What lessons have you learned along the way?
The menu, which includes the ever-popular fry bread taco, tells a story of connection, innovation, and respect for legacy and Indigenous culinary traditions. Thirty Nine’s menu highlights high-protein and precolonial ingredients.
“Egg demand was relatively stable in the early 2000s and seasonality played a much bigger role in peak demand periods than it does today,” said Brian Earnest, lead animal protein economist with CoBank. “While seasonality remains an influencing factor, egg use has grown dramatically over the last 20 years.
To position your restaurant at the forefront of innovation, consider the following four key strategies and techniques: Seasonal and Trending Eats In a culinary landscape defined by constant change, incorporating seasonal ingredients and aligning with trending topics is a powerful strategy for attracting customers.
“Egg demand was relatively stable in the early 2000s and seasonality played a much bigger role in peak demand periods than it does today,” said Brian Earnest, lead animal protein economist with CoBank. “While seasonality remains an influencing factor, egg use has grown dramatically over the last 20 years.
Understanding your target market is the foundation of making smart decisions for your menu, pricing, and overall guest experience. Without a well-defined target market, restaurants risk wasting resources on strategies that dont connect and menu offerings that dont selltrying to appeal to everyone, but standing out to no one.
Foot traffic or heat mapping, menu item engagement, or consumer demographics by time of day. L&L Hawaiian Barbecue brings a distinct fusion of Asian, Pacific Islander, and American influences to consumers in the continental U.S. So much data is generated at every point within a restaurant, whether fast casual or fine dining.
More recently, as chefs have been working up seasonalmenus to highlight local specialties and homegrown bars have been remixing native spirits, Sri Lanka drew millions of tourists in 2024 , announcing the islands comeback on the global stage after a few years of economic uncertainty. Rooms start at $45 in the high season.
When business slows down, its easy to blame the season, the weather, or people not going out like they used to, but sometimes all customers need is a good reminder or the right reason to show up again. Promote a Limited-Time Menu Item Few things drive action like the phrase only available for a limited time.
While your restaurant may feature a diverse menu, delicious food, a great ambiance, and excellent customer service, you will still struggle to build a customer base without promoting it. Others tend to emphasize their cheaper menu options. A quick look at your POS data will identify the top three selling items on your menu.
Micro-Influencers with Real Local Reach Forget follower counts and focus on local foodies with strong engagement. Display rotating artwork or murals Host a live music night featuring local talent Collaborate on limited-edition packaging or menus 5. Retailers and Boutiques Perfect for seasonal campaigns or shopping districts.
This includes hours of operation (including holiday updates), your website link, phone number, and menu. Plus, reviews give curious guests insight into what kind of experience they can expect, influencing their decision to place an order. Think about your menu, atmosphere, and target audience, then choose events that align with them.
A spike in food costs, a drop in sales volume, or one slow season can wipe out months of hard work. That includes the ingredients and packaging for your menu items, but not things like rent and payroll. This gives you a sense of how effective your menu pricing is.
MVP Menu Performances More than 200 million people tuned in to the Super Bowl last year—many with a plate of wings in front of them. This dish's popularity during Super Bowl season shows how Americans often turn to familiar comfort foods for major sporting events.
In this article, you will learn: How to identify top-selling and underperforming menu items Ways to adjust pricing using real sales data How timing and frequency trends improve planning and customer experience Lets dig into what your restaurant data might already be trying to tell you. Ordering data includes more than just what gets sold.
Pick your event idea by looking at your: Venue size and layout Customer demographic Available resources Time of year (season) Community Write out each of these factors, and a picture will emerge of which restaurant event idea will best fit your location. Get the word out to regulars and people curious about your restaurant.
The same is true of chefs and cooks who countless times prepare a menu, a dish; arrange components on a plate, sauce the work, apply an appropriate garnish, wipe the rim and quietly celebrate the story behind it. As examples, any restaurant can, and so many do, offer Caesar Salad as a menu staple.
Introducing new menu items is more than just adding dishes to your offerings—it’s about crafting an experience that captivates your guests and keeps them coming back for more. A well-planned new menu launch not only boosts customer engagement but also reinforces your restaurant’s brand identity.
Leveraging engaging and authentic video content allows restaurants to showcase their menu offerings, build a recognizable brand identity, and create a loyal base of regulars and word-of-mouth referrals. Showcasing New Menu Items and Specials While many aspects of a restaurant shape the experience guests have, the most important is the menu.
Restaurants can optimize their menu by highlighting delivery-friendly items, improve kitchen workflows through better station organization, and track prep times to identify bottlenecks. Seasonality: Demand can fluctuate based on the time of yearfor example, colder months often see more delivery orders because diners dont want to leave home.
Mentioning your location, menu items, and your cuisine types gives search engines the signals they need to understand your restaurant’s offer and put it in front of hungry people looking for what you serve. Menus, Table Signage, and In-Store Materials A pared-down version of your restaurant description works great in print.
Or, modern font typology can influence feelings of power, confidence, and style. As far as menu and website fonts are concerned, these choices can stray from the original logo option. Because many restaurants have had a slow season, they may want to check out reimagining their overall images before reopening.
Have you ever walked into a restaurant, excited for a great meal, but the server can’t answer your questions about the menu? Without the right training, even the best menu or ambiance can fall short due to poor service, leading to dissatisfied customers and lost revenue. How long should restaurant staff training be?
Although ambiance , narrative, and menu diversity drive choices just as much, convenience and quickness remain critical. Here, working with a seasoned commercial real estate broker becomes absolutely vital. Every sensory aspect in visual presentation, menu labeling, staff behavior, music, lighting, and aroma conveys a tale.
Add high-quality photos and videos regularly, posting as soon as new dishes are added to your menu. Keep your hours updated as well, especially if you have special holiday hours or seasonal changes. Another great way to partner with local businesses is by featuring their products on your menu or in your restaurant marketing.
Food Costs (COGS) Your food costs, or cost of goods sold (COGS), include everything that goes into producing your menu items, including: Recipe ingredients Beverages Condiments Disposables, like to-go containers, straws, and napkins Tracking your food costs percentage helps you understand how much of your revenue is being spent on your menu.
Increase sales by promoting high-margin menu items and special offers. Factor in seasonal trends: If your restaurant has seasonal peaks and slow periods, adjust your budget accordingly. You might need to spend more on marketing before busy seasons and scale back during slower months. Looking to promote new menu items?
With 22 percent of Gen Zers having at least one immigrant parent and the unlimited access they have to the world through social media, this generation has grown up with more exposure to dynamic cultures; and that global perspective has influenced everything from fashion to food. Be in the right place at the right time.
In 1985, Plaza Mayor incorporated pan dulce to its menu of Spanish classics think paella, potato tortillas, and grilled octopus because of a hunch that it would pair well with the tart sidra, or Spanish cider, served at the time. And there are generally no workarounds to the long lines during the holiday season.
More than anything else, when I was in restaurant kitchens I looked forward to planning and testing the next set of menu changes. A stale menu is not cost effective, ignorant of quality issues with ingredients, uninspiring for employees, and just plain boring. Winter is, by far my favorite season to plan menus.
This edition of Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine's Research Roundup features the National Restaurant Association's State of the Indusrty Report, food industry pressures, foodservice opportunities, influencer marketing, foot traffic analysis and the dining-out dollar. 2020 State of the Restaurant Industry.
Explain the reasons behind the move whether it's to accommodate growing demand, enhance customer experience, or introduce new menu offerings. Engaging content like Instagram Reels or TikTok videos showcasing construction progress, new menu items, or even staff preparing for the move can make followers feel like they are part of the journey.
By displaying menu items, offers, and specials on screens, QSR operators can effectively communicate with their customers and influence their purchasing decisions. In fact, studies have shown that a majority of QSR customers make their decisions at the register, making digital menu boards an effective tool for increasing revenue.
A well-thought-out menu is more than just a list of dishes. It’s a strategic tool that influences diner choices, enhances their dining experience, and ultimately drives your restaurant’s success. Are you creating a full menu, a breakfast menu, a brunch menu, or perhaps a seasonal or limited-time menu?
Create an app to make it easy for Gen Z to place a mobile order, review their regular meals and stay up to date on seasonal specials and rewards. Finally, Create Brand Advocates In addition to loyalty programs, restaurants are also teaming up with celebrities and influencers to reach younger audiences.
Highlight Your Menu. Most customers want to look at the menu before heading to a specific restaurant to eat. With this in mind, you can highlight your menu items through a video. This way, you can strongly appeal to your customers’ hungry pangs and influence their dining decisions. Seasonal recipe tutorials.
A well-crafted email can remind a past guest to stop by again, encourage reservations for a new seasonalmenu, or even boost online orders with a limited-time discount. And it works 59% of respondents say marketing emails influence their purchase decisions. Promotions and Discounts Special offers drive customer action.
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